It was Thursday and Remus had taught three classes - first year Gryffindors and Slytherins together (always an exhausting bunch, why Dumbledore thought it smart to pair those two houses together was beyond Remus's comprehension), fourth year blend that contained mainly Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, and finally the motley collection of sixth years who were aiming for their NEWTs.

After the 6th years had left following their lesson, Remus was free until Harry's anti-dementor lesson at eight o'clock, so he went to his office and set himself to grading papers, concentrating very hard on the task. It was a harder job than it ought to have been because there was something that seemed to be nagging at him that he couldn't quite place a name to, and he kept getting distracted, standing up and wandering a lap or two around the office, doing things like tending the fireplace and setting a kettle on or watering the Wiggentree that stood in windows.

"I can't bloody concentrate for shite," he muttered, shaking his head as he shook off the temptation to set a spell to grade the papers laid out before him, rather than grading them properly. The only argument that convinced him was that he hadn't yet read Harry's paper and he didn't think it fair to skip ahead to Harry's and he didn't want to grade Harry's by magic, either, so he trudged onward through Seamus Finnigan's paper, sighing and re-reading the third paragraph at least three times without it's meaning sinking in.

Of course, probably about ten percent of the lack of meaning was on his comprehension skills while ninety had more to do with the content itself... Seamus clearly hadn't read the text. But of course he hadn't - Remus already was aware that Seamus was much better at the practical portion of classwork and he'd already taken that into consideration while doing grading on other assignments, using an adjusted curve specifically designed to fit Seamus's learning style.

But bloody hell, the paper was going to be the death of Remus, he was sure of it.

It was about six when a knock came on his door.

"Too early for it to be Harry," Remus murmured, surprised by the arrival of anybody... 

He supposed it was most likely Percy Weasley inquiring about some assignment or another. The eldest of the Weasley boys at Hogwarts had taken to pestering Remus near to constantly about what would be on this year's N.E.W.T. because he'd heard that Remus had been specially selected by the N.E.W.T. review board to be allowed to design his own exam upon Remus's request that the exam be altered from an all-written to a practical, similar to how Transfiguration and Charms were done.

Remus stood up, slid one hand into his pocket, and opened the door of his office with the other, readying his gentle dismissal for Percy, but he was surprised to find it wasn't Percy on the other side of the door.

"Wotcher, Remus!"

Tonks's hair was  bright cyan-blue, her eye shadow dark purple with opalescent white eyeliner and a jumper that looked like a pink muppet pelt over a denim skirt and black boots like Sirius had always worn, but they tied up to her knees. She was holding a package, wrapped with a huge red bow.

"Happy Birthday, Remus!" She squealed excitedly.

"I - what?" Remus shook his head. It wasn't seriously his birthday, was it? He looked down at the watch on his wrist, which had a date component, as well as a moon cycle component that spun about the edges. 

Bloody hell, it really is the 10th.

"Your birthday, Remus!" Tonks smiled widely, "You know? Celebration of the day you were born??" She danced past him, spinning 'round once inside so she was stepping backwards from where he was, facing him as he closed the office door as he followed her. "I reckon you've done it once a year since - what? '61? '62?

"1960," he answered.

"Tap dancing turnips, you're an old man, Remus!" she joked, her eyes sparkling.

"I'm not that  old," he said, only slightly defensive.

Tonks laughed, "My point is, you ought to know how birthdays work by now, I reckon! You know - balloons, cake, ice cream, streamers... funny cone-shaped hats and..." she held up the package, "Presents." She looked around the office, then back to Remus. "Is it in the teacher's lounge then?"

"What?"

"The party!"

"There's no p--"

"Oh no, is it a surprise party and I've ruined it?" she worried.

"I certainly hope not," Remus said warily. "Did someone invite you to a party?"

"Invite me? No," Tonks laughed, "Why would you think somebody invited me?"

"You invited yourself?"

Tonks's laugh was musical in a way he hadn't heard a laugh be musical since Lily Evans had been 'round him. "Well of couse I invited myself, if I had been invited by somebody then I'd know all the details myself! I thought by now it would've been well under way..."

"There isn't a party, Nymphadora," Remus said.

She looked up at him, her face burning and the blue hair turning slightly purple as though the anger raised a red tone into the color, "Don't call me --"

"I'm sorry! Tonks, Tonks..." Remus sighed, then, "Do you squawk at Moody when he calls you the N-name?" he asked.

Tonks snorted, "Moody's been trained not to use the name that shall not be named."

Remus muttered, "I think it's a very pretty name and you ought not be ashamed of it."

"It's horrendous," she said, shaking her head. "Nymphadora. There are entirely too many syllables." 

Remus sighed.

"So why aren't you having a party?" Tonks asked. She looked around and her eyes landed on the waiting-to-be graded papers and the dry kettle hissing on the hearth.

"I suppose I forgot about it," Remus answered honestly.

Tonks stared at him for several long moments. She put the package down on his desk, staring at him with a sort of fascinated shock. "You... you forgot your own birthday?"

"I don't generally celebrate my birthday," he explained.

"But you just... completely forgot?"

"Until you said it just a moment ago."

She stared.

"It's not a big deal, Tonks."

"Yes it is..." she said, and her brow was knit together. She stared at him with a look somewhere between pity and astonishment. "It is a big deal! Remus! Birthdays are a big-big-big deal!" 

Remus laughed, "Tonks, really it's not a --"

"Stop saying it isn't!" she argued. There was such adamance in her voice that Remus did as he was told. "Your birthday should be a national bloody holiday, Remus! Yours about all others. It is a big deal and - and by jolly I'm going to give you a birthday party!"

"What?"

"Hang on!" Tonks snapped her fingers. "Wait here!" she called over her shoulder as she raced from the room, slamming the door. 

Remus sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

Within ten minutes, Tonks was back. 

"Alright," she said, triumphant sounding, "Now it's not a whole lot because of course it's not I had all of ten minutes advance waning, but close your eyes!" 

"Tonks --"

"Remus!! CLOSE YOUR EYES."

"Alright!" He closed them.

There was a tearing package sound, a bunch of pops and clicks and Remus sighed, listening, eyes still closed. 

"No peeking, I mean it Remus Lupin or I'll hex you!"

"I'm not peeking."

Finally, he felt her standing directly in front of him, and there was a plink of an elastic band against his chin and a plop! and he reached up and felt a cone shaped hat on his head.

"There, now everything - even you - looks more the part!" Tonks said. "Open up."

Remus opened his eyes and was surprised to see she'd decorated - hurriedly and with garish bright colors of red and yellow and orange - but there were streamers all about the room, hanging from the baby dragon skeleton in the rafts and over the bannister to his private quarters and all over the mantel and even 'round the Grindylow tank. There were loads of balloons and oddly enough what looked like a Christmas tree and under the tree was the package with the bow she'd carried in, and she had on a bright red cone hat and when he'd opened his eyes, she blew a party favor that made a loud kazoo sound and the roll of paper at the end unfurled and coiled back up again twice as she blew on it.

Remus laughed, "You're not right."

"I'm alright with being not right if it means you have a party!"

"And what of guests? What have you done on that front?"

Suddenly there was a cry of "HAAAAAAPPPYYY BIRFFFFFFDAYYYYYYY LOOPY LOOOONY LUPIN!" Peeves the Poltergeist came rolling into the room, right through the walls, blowing raspberries even has he sang the words out gleefully. "ITS YOUR BIRFFFDAY AND PEEVSY IS HERE TO CELEBRATE YOOOOOUUUUUUUU!"

The poltergeist swooped about the room, cackling loudly. Then there was a series of cracking sounds and there were house elves in the room, one carrying what looked like a very quickly assembled cake made of chocolate. "Blimey, chocolate cake," muttered Remus.

He hadn't had chocolate cake in years.

Tonks smiled, then took up the package under the tree --

"Why a Christmas tree?" Remus asked.

"Oh it isn't a Christmas tree! It's a Remus day Tree!"

"Come again?" 

 She laughed. "It's just I didn't have a lot by way of decor to work with, Remus, so I took one of the empty old Christmas tree going unused and I thought to myself - would'n't it be fun to have a Remus tree?" 

"What's that on the Remus tree?"

Tonks grinned. "Bowtruckles."

"I see."

"They're wearing tutus."

"TOOOOO TOOOOOOO!" cried Peeves, cackling and swooping to play with the bowtruckles, who squealed as he started flying about in loop-de-loops.

"Fancy."

Tonks pushed the package into her hand. "Open it up."

"You didn't need to get me any--"

"STOP MAKING IT NOT A BIG DEAL!" Tonks cried, frustrated.

Remus flushed.

"Open it."

He opened it. Inside was a record. The cover had a blue building and in front of it there was a woman in a red dress with bright red hair, dancing. "What's this?" he asked.

"I looked through your collection and I didn't see this one, but it's amazing and I wager every record collection ought have it. It's my very favorite. I hope you like The Laup!?"

"The Laup?"

"YES! Oh bloody badgers, Remus, you've heard Cindy Lauper, yeah?!" 

Remus thought the name might sound vaguely familiar. 

"Oh please!" Tonks took the album quickly and rushed toward the record player across the room. "You have to have! If you're into all this other stuff -- Queen? Elton John? -- how do you not know CINDY LAUPER?"

"DOESN'T KNOW, DOESN'T KNOW!" Peeves sang, pointing.

"Ohhh bugger off, Peeves!" Remus flushed. 

How to tell Tonks that those records weren't his own? That he never listened to them? That music was the furthest thing from Remus's mind most of the time?

She already had the record out and on the player and was dropping the needle. "Here we are..."

There was a crackle, a pop, a hiss, and then -- a crash of piano keys, loud and frantic and a beat that plonked it's way along...

Tonks turned about quickly, facing Remus, a grin on her face as her blue hair melted into the same flaming red as the girl on the cover, and she held her hand up with an imaginary microphone.... and sang along with the record:

"I come home in the morning light, my mother says WHEN YOU GONNA LIVE YOUR LIFE RIGHT?" Tonks sauntered across the room, back toward Remus, "Oh momma dear, we're not the fortunate ones... and girls, they wanna have fun... ohhhh girls...just wanna have fuuu-uuuuuun!"

Peeves was blowing raspberries to the tune from a spot on the Remus tree, where he sat watching them...

Remus laughed as Tonks spun about, coming closer, continuing, "The phone rings in the middle of the night, my father yells WHAT YOU GONNA DO WITH YOUR LIFE? Oh daddy dear, you know you're still number one! But giiiiirls they waaa-aaanna have fuuu-uuuun, ooohhhh GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE -- THATS ALL THEY REALLY WAAAA-aa-aaAa-a-aa-a-aaant... Some Fuuu-uu-uu-uuuun.... WHEN THE WORKING DAY IS DONE OH GIRLS THEY WANNA HAVE FU-UNNNN! OH GIRLS JUST WANNA HAAA-AAAVE FUN!!!"

"You're positively nutter," Remus laughed and she suddenly cackled very happily, pointing at him.

"Look, there it is!" Tonks cried out.

"What's that?" Remus asked.

"Your smile!" Tonks grinned. "Your bloody SMILE, Remus. It's been AGES." She grabbed his hand. "Please dance with me?"

"I can't, Tonks," he said, "My knees are --"

"PLEASE?" she begged, "Just for a minute."

He flushed, "I can't dance. I don't dance. I look atrocious when I dance."

"TERRIBLE DANCER HE IS, THAT'S THE TRUTH!" Peeves cried out.

"Just move your hips a little bit," she pleaded, ignoring the poltergeist,  "It's so much fun and The Laup is PERFECT for it. Please?" Tonks wiggled about freely, singing off and on with random lyrics and spun about as carelessly as anyone could ever, ever be. "Don't you just wanna have fu-uuun, Remus?" she sang.

Remus said, "I don't know if old men my age have fu-un."

Tonks stopped, turned to him, and her expression and voice were equally incredulous. "Remus, I you're really NOT all that old. I said that stuff because I was kidding, you know. You're really not old... and you're certainly not too old to have fun and to dance." Her eyes searched his. "Come on."

Remus stared into her eyes. 

"You used to dance with me all the time," she said.

Remus's nose pinkened. 

"Don't let what happened in the past define who you are in the future," she said quietly. "You're too good a person for that, Remus... and... you've let enough of you slip away. Please just let yourself have fun, just this one time, just for ONE SONG and I'll leave you alone. Please?"

Her eyes were grey.

Of course they were... That entire family had grey eyes, didn't they?"

He had always been a sucker for grey eyes.

So he took a step forward and held out his hand. "Alright. But only ONE SONG, Tonks. Just one."

She squealed loudly and a flick of her wand had the record player starting the song over.

In retrospect, it was one of the best birthday parties Remus Lupin had ever had... and that night, he used the memory of it to power his own patronus as a demonstration for Harry.